UPPER BEAR CREEK COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

Geoff Clayton, President of UBCC, opened the October 28, 2003 meeting at 7:30 p.m. with a few comments:

Geoff predicted a good cross section of questions from the audience.
Geoff mentioned that wetlands, streams, aquifers and those areas that either have natural resource value or potentially mismanaged areas have caused flooding and things like that.

He said he was pleased to say that the record rainfall was not quite as intense in this area because of the earth in this area had not experienced a lot of rain and the summer drought, the canopy and soils largely absorbed that storm in the Bear Creek Basin.

There was substantial erosion in the Issaquah Creek. The Skagit was a complete disaster and some of the other urban tributaries had their problems, but in terms of the chinook and sockeye that have come into our system already, by and large, the eggs that are those redds are probably intact ,and we can look forward to them going into colonizing areas that have been devastated by storms.

Announcing that Harry Reinert, Special Projects Manager of King County DDES was unable to attend. Susan Oxholm, Jill Lowe and Curt Crawford (Titles?) were present to give the power point presentation and answer questions regarding two King county draft ordinances - an update of the CAO and the Stormwater Ordinance. These ordinances reflect the mandate to include “Best Available Science.”

Ms. Oxholm had numerous handouts that were given to each attendee. She then talked and showed slides about the Best Available Science. The purpose of this report is to meet state requirements in the 1990 GMA and a related 1995 administrative rule that “counties and cities shall include the best available science in developing policies and development regulations to protect the functions and values of critical areas, and give special consideration to conservation or protection measure necessary to preserve or enhance anadromous fisheries.”

Next she offered information regarding rural property owners - stewardship planning option. Once adopted, these proposed changes would only apply for new construction, reconstruction additions and changes in land use in unincorporated King County. One planning to develop or redevelop property and own a single family, residential property in the rural area, one can choose to develop a rural residential stewardship plan instead of complying with fixed regulations. Benefits and stewardship plan requirements were discussed.


Agriculture -
Proposed changes to agricultural regulations in KC CA have been substantially modified. Existing agriculture to continue with only minor changes and offers new or expanded agriculture flexible approaches that will benefit the environment and are based on sound agricultural practices.


Urban Property Owners -
Once adopted, the proposed changes would ONLY apply to new construction, reconstruction, additions and changes in land use in unincorporated King County. Wetland Buffers, Aquatic Area Buffers,Channel Migration Zones, Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas, Hazard Areas, Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas, Mitigation Requirements, and Stormwater Controls are discussed in this handout.

Rural Property Owners - Fixed Regulations -
There are three ways rural residential property owners could comply with proposed critical area regulations:
By developing a rural residential stewardship plan;
By developing a farm management plan; or
By complying with the fixed standards.
The handout given at the meeting explains more in detail the requirements.

Regulatory Flexibility and Incentives Program -
King Count has many programs designed to encourage and provide rewards for action that help meet growth management objectives. From feedback from stakeholders and citizens, proposed changed to the Critical Area, Stormwater and clearing and Grading Ordinances; this proposal was designed with flexibility in mind. it offers rural residential property owners flexibility in how they meet goals for protection critical areas. King county is trying to balance the needs of property owners while protecting the environment.

General Overview -

What are critical areas - Critical areas fall into two broad categories: environmentally sensitive areas and hazard areas. Critical area regulations serve two primary purposes: They protect public health and safety and protect environmentally sensitive areas from damage that can result from development nearby.

Rural residential property owners and farmers can choose between fixed regulations or flexible regulations that are developed through site-specific stewardship or farm plans. Non-residential rural property owners and urban property owners would need to comply with fixed regulations, however some of those regulations are less restrictive than they are for rural residential properties. This handout goes on to explain more in detail.

Included with the handouts were:
Special Urban Waters Map
Clearing and Impervious Surface Limits information
Proposed Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas Map
Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas: Breeding Site Protection

Additional information or comments can be found at www.metrokc.gov/ddes/cao or email:
CAO-Ordinance@metrokc.gov

Questions from the audience asked about the status of PBRS properties and stewardship.
Statement about the grassy meadow retention and the habitat retention during the record rainfall as being no different on this property owners land.

The meeting was adjourned at 9 p.m.